Woman killed after being pinned between van and car in Birmingham

A Roseville woman died Monday in what police describe as a freak accident after being pinned between two cars in Birmingham.

Birmingham police said that a van that Michaele Love, 45, was driving stalled at the entrance gate of a parking garage around 3 p.m. at 333 N. Old Woodward.

According to witness reports, Love got out of the 2004 Toyota Sienna and attempted to push the van out of the driving lane.

"A witness who was behind (Love) pulled around to the left and asked her if she needed help," said Birmingham Cmdr. Terry Kiernan. "She said 'no,' so he started to drive away when he saw her get back in the van ... when he looked back, she was back outside, pushing."

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The van began to roll, and eventually turned into a line of cars to the right of the vehicle. Love tried to stop the vehicle from rolling from the driver's side door, but was unsuccessful. The van sideswiped the driver's side of one of them, pinning the 45-year-old between it an the vehicle, police said.

The witness who had been behind Love immediately called authorities, said Kiernan. Birmingham police and firefighters came to the scene and found Love pinned between the two vehicles, unresponsive.

She was freed and taken to Royal Oak Beaumont Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

The details of this bizarre accident remain somewhat a mystery, as Kiernan said police are unsure what caused the vehicle to stall and possibly start up, then stall again. Crash investigators from the Oakland County Sheriff's Office assisted with the initial investigation, and Michigan State Police will be investigating the vehicle's black box to determine what happened, police said.

Kiernan is doubtful that much information can be gained from the vehicle's computer, as the airbags of the van didn't deploy and the vehicle stalled.

"It's a tragic, freak accident," Kiernan said. "That's the only way you can describe this thing."

Authorities said Love was employed as a baby-sitter and was driving her employer's vehicle to pick up a child at the Montessori School located next to the parking lot when the accident occurred.

Oakland County Medical Examiner's Office personnel said Love's autopsy was still underway when contacted on Tuesday, but noted that she did suffer chest injuries. She is listed as an organ donor, added investigators.

The Roseville woman was married with two teenage children. Her funeral services will be handled by the Chas Verheyden Funeral Home in Grosse Pointe Park. For more information, call 313-881-8500.